The Nature Conservancy's largest ever gift will preserve 24,000 acres of highly prized land in California. Jack and Laura Dangermond (cofounders of Esri) made the donation.
James Fallows reports: "A renowned tract of undeveloped California coastal land totaling more than 24,000 acres, or about 38 square miles, has been purchased by The Nature Conservancy (TNC) for permanent preservation, thanks to a $165 million donation by a wealthy tech-industry couple."
The tract of land (now called the Jack and Laura Dangermond Preserve, but previously called the Bixby Ranch) "includes hills and canyons, grasslands and brush, 2,000 acres of coastal live-oak stands containing perhaps 1 million trees, a creek, parts of the Santa Ynez mountain range—and a full eight miles of the bluffs and beaches that make up the coastline around Point Conception, west of Santa Barbara."
The tract is rare for its size and its mostly natural state. The land has never been subdivided, and now it never will.
Read the full story: A Historic Gift of Pristine Land to Inspire Tech's Elite
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Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
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Nation's most wind-powered state turns to coal as data centers increase energy demand
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Brightline West’s future may rely on $6 billion federal loan
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Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
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Greater Baltimore Committee
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
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The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association